Family
by Haruka's Knight
Summary: This is a one shot follow up to the events of "Bottom of the Bottle". The lives of the Kaioh and Ten'ou family over Christmas and New Years Eve. Please read and review. Slight Alternate Universe.


**Author's Note: **_This is meant to take place after the events of "Bottom of the Bottle". Approximately one year has passed._

**Family:**

Haruka had left the house early, she had her own personal mission today and no one could help her. She increased the speed of her motorcycle as it sped down the highway in the bright dawn sun and its navy blue paint gleamed. Tire chains held fast to the cold road even with the snow packed along the side. The Ninja had been her Christmas present from Michiru only yesterday, but now Haruka was working on an addition to her gift to Michiru.

It was nearly a half hour ride, at Haruka's speeds, but the blonde safely brought her vehicle to a halt before a large mansion's gate. She reached out, hitting a call button near the gate to alert the house's staff to her presence. The gate was expensive, and a security camera swiveled to take in Haruka Ten'ou before an official voice crackled over the intercom speaker.

"Are you lost sir?"

"No, I'm here to speak to your boss." Haruka said, muffled slightly by the full face helmet she now wore. It'd be more convenient not to have the object, but she'd sworn to Michiru she wouldn't ride with out it after last year's scare.

"I'm afraid you may be lost, the master and mistress are expecting no visitor's today sir." The voice sounded to Haruka as if they were scoffing at the mere notion of a biker coming to call before the great house. The blonde wasn't put off.

"That's because they aren't expecting me." Haruka sent a silent apology to her lover and un-strapped the helmet. She ignored the man's continued denials as she slipped the helmet off and looked directly into the camera. "Let them know Ten'ou Haruka would like to speak to the head of the Kaioh family."

There was a period of total silence in the following pause and Haruka wondered if they would call the police. After what felt like forever to the young racing star the mechanical gate began to clank. The blonde slipped the helmet back on and guided her ninja through as soon as the gate allowed, bringing it up a long drive to park before a set of what appeared to be marble steps. She had just dismounted as the double doors opened and a butler came to stand in the doorway.

"Kaioh-san and Kaioh-sama are waiting for you Ten'ou-san." The man said as he bowed stiffly. Haruka hung her helmet from the handle bars and jogged up the steps, shifting to a normal walk as she entered the expensive house. High priced pieces of art and antique furniture was everywhere. "Right this way."

'Michiru grew up here?' Haruka had only met Michiru's parents a small amount of times, and never had she been inside their house. The butler led her toward the back of the house, stopping finally before a large set of doors and clearing his throat before he opened them for her. The room inside seemed to be a library and two people sat in the center. Michiru's parents looked nothing like their daughter, but Haruka knew them the moment she saw them.

"Master Ten'ou has arrived." The butler spoke for appearances sake, as it was clear that mister Kaioh at least had been woken. The older man wore a set of fleece pajama's and a heavy wool robe. His wife, however, wore a traditional kimono and her hair was perfectly piled a top her head.

"Ten'ou-san." Mister Kaioh greeted as misses Kaioh seemed to be unconcerned with the young woman before them. The way he grated out his words it was clear the blonde wasn't welcome in his eyes. "To what do we owe your presence?"

"I'm sure you know what the first part of my visit is about." Haruka received a mock blank look which only made her angrier at these two people. She fought down the voice inside her urging her to turn her back and leave them to their own little games. She was here for the sake of Michiru, not for herself. "I wanted to talk to you about your daughter."

"We have no daughter." Misses Kaioh said coldly as she huffed. "Our daughter would have been raised to make intelligent choices. She would have thought not only of herself but also of her family and her future."

"Michiru did nothing but try to live up to your expectations for years!" Haruka lost her cool for a moment but the way misses Kaioh cringed brought the blonde back to her senses and she bowed stiffly. "I'm sorry for my tone, Kaioh-sama. I know neither of you has ever been very fond of me, however I also know that you have been polite to me when ever we met."

"That's correct Ten'ou-san." Mister Kaioh stood and looked sternly at the younger blonde as he pulled a pipe from his robe pocket and seemed to be searching for a tobacco pouch. "How did you repay that politeness? You have seduced our daughter and now you come to our home and disturb us with out invitation. I suggest you make your point before I lose my holiday spirit and have you removed."

"Kaioh-san, Kaioh-sama." Haruka again bowed stiffly toward the two and held her temper in check as she slowly stood straight again. "I did not seduce your daughter, in fact when I first admitted to have feelings for her we both agreed to just be friends. For years we were best friends, nothing more."

"Yet she sent Masato-san away for you." Mister Kaioh shook his head as he finally pulled his tobacco pouch from a pocket only to find it empty. He grumbled and settled for merely biting the end of his pipe instead. His brown eyes regarded the blonde still standing before them. "I don't see what we have to discuss."

"Your daughter loves you both. She does her best to hide it but she is heartbroken by the fact that you've turned her away now." Haruka sent another silent apology to Michiru as she continued to speak. "She hasn't even told any of us what's wrong, but after she received a last letter from you she's become depressed. She tries to act like nothing is wrong but anyone who's lived with her can tell she looks like she's in morning."

"She made her own choices." Misses Kaioh now put in with an openly distasteful look toward Haruka. The blonde sighed in frustration and bowed her head.

"So I am the only reason you won't have anything to do with your daughter?"

"That's right." Mister Kaioh seemed to almost take a sadistic pleasure in telling the blonde this as he approached her. "As we told her in our letter, all she need do is come to her senses and break off her relationship with you. It's unnatural Ten'ou-san and you'd both do much better to find respectable young men."

"Why not compromise?" Haruka looked up, knowing already that her partner would not like this idea but gambling on it anyway. In the past year Michiru had shown herself to be just as protective of her blonde lover as Haruka was of her. The two had always been loyal friends, perfect partners on the battle field but now they were even closer. The past year it wasn't that they were inseparable, but neither allowed anyone to undermine their relationship.

"And what do you propose Ten'ou-san?"

"Michiru is your only child; you must miss her as badly as she misses both of you." Haruka knew she'd hear it for even proposing this, knew the senshi of the sea wouldn't be happy, but she just hoped they'd all agree to it. "I don't come with Michiru to any of her family visits and agree to avoid you completely. You'd never have to see me or hear from me, just your daughter."

"And you think Michiru will agree to this?" Misses Kaioh's voice sounded a little too hopeful at that point and Haruka suppressed a wince. These two seemed to honestly hate her now.

"I'll talk to her." Haruka looked back toward Michiru's father with a calm expression. "Kaioh-san, please. This is your only child."

Michiru was sitting quietly in the living room of the empty house when she heard the cry of a motorcycle's engine pulling into the driveway. She glanced toward the clock, noting that it was still early enough for the two to catch breakfast but late enough for her to wonder exactly where her blonde love had been. She nearly dropped the book in her lap when Haruka threw the door open and quickly ran into the living room with her shoes still on and a determined expression on her face. The door was heard slamming shut just as Haruka halted before her. She didn't question how the blonde knew where to find her; aside from those months a year ago the two rarely had to search for each other.

"Where have you been so early?" Michiru smiled as she stood and walked over to Haruka. The blonde hadn't even taken off her helmet or the protective jacket she wore while riding. "I didn't think you'd be gone before I woke up to take another ride."

"I had something to do." Was the slightly helmet muffled reply of the wind senshi. Michiru unsnapped the chin strap of the helmet and Haruka bowed a bit as the helmet was tugged off. "I think I have good news."

"Oh?" Michiru smiled in amusement, not sure what Haruka had been up to yet but just indulging the blonde for the moment. When Haruka was excited she could sometimes seem like an overgrown child. "And what mission were you on this morning?"

"I went to see your parents." Haruka winced as the overly cheerful expression dropped and Michiru gave her a look she couldn't quite read. Haruka took a deep breath before she said what she almost felt was her death sentence. "I went to talk out why they've been shunning you the past few months."

"Ten'ou Haruka!" Michiru set the helmet down and lightly smacked the blonde's shoulder as she outright yelled at her. "What did you think you were doing? That is between my parents and I and it's none of your business!"

"Michiru, Love calm down." Haruka caught the violin player's wrist gently and held it to keep her from storming out of the living room. "Koi, it's been upsetting you for months and anything that bothers you that much bothers me too. I don't like seeing you in pain."

"What made you think they would even listen to you? Did they even let you in?" Michiru raised an eyebrow as Haruka just sort of paused. Her voice lost its anger and instead all her surprise was clear in her next words. "They let you in?"

"Yes." Haruka carefully stepped forward and kissed Michiru's cheek before speaking quietly. "And if you'll sit and calm for a moment I'll tell you what happened."

A few days had passed, some of the longest Haruka had experienced in a while. After she'd explained everything Michiru had agreed to meet with her parents, with out the blonde racer present. Haruka had spent the following days not sure wither this was good or not. She wasn't on the couch, Michiru hadn't retreated to the guest room, but the blonde heard hardly a word from her lover for several days.

"Haruka-papa." The blonde looked up from her book to find Hotaru standing before her in the middle of the living room. It was New Years Eve and the teen was wearing something that caught the blonde off guard.

"Hime-chan, is that one of my old suits?" Haruka heard Michiru laughing from the doorway of the living room.

"I didn't want to wear the expensive dress Michiru-mama picked so she told me my option was a suit." Hotaru's purple eyes sparkled with mischief as she held out her arms to the side so Haruka could inspect the suit's fit. The sleeves of the coat almost swallowed the teen's hands. "Can I burrow this one?"

"Well, it's a bit big on you still and I doubt your grandparents will like it very much." Haruka replied only to receive a pleading look from her adopted daughter. She smirked and shook her head. "Tell you what, why don't you go find a vest to wear with it instead of that coat, it's too big."

"Thank you!" Hotaru bolted and was very likely off to raid the blonde's closet a second time.

"Your parents won't be happy to see their granddaughter in a suit." Haruka said calmly as Michiru came to stand behind the couch, resting her hands on Haruka's shoulders.

"They'll just have to live with it." Michiru commented as leaned down and placed a kiss on the blonde's temple. "I want you to come."

"And I want you to be able to speak to your parents still." Haruka craned her neck back and forced a smile for her love. She was glad the silence of the past few days seemed to have broken. "I'll be fine here at home. I've got movies, popcorn, candy, salad and the number to a good pizza place."

"But it's New Years and you're alone." Michiru commented as she rested her forehead against the blonde's.

"I'll be fine." Haruka shifted away before standing and coming around the couch. She trapped Michiru between herself and the couch and nuzzled her neck lightly. "Just have fun with your parents tonight; I'll be here when you get back."

Michiru looked like she wanted to say something, like she wanted to come up with some reason that Haruka had to come. Haruka caught her before she could, kissing her lips lightly and slowly before pulling back to rest their foreheads together again.

"Just do it for me, please Koi?" Haruka said in a low voice that caused a shiver to run through Michiru.

Hotaru smiled as she peaked around the door frame a few minutes later. Haruka and Michiru were preoccupied with each other, caught in a deep kiss. The teen happily turned away to find Setsuna, glad the two were normal again after nearly a week.

The Kaioh family mansion was decorated with silver and gold, with servants everywhere to make sure the guests and distant family members were happy and taken care of. Where most people in Japan might celebrate this holiday in smaller, more family orientated celebrations the Kaioh family held a much larger party. The butler looked surprised though happy as he took Michiru, Hotaru and Setsuna's coats at the door. He bowed as he greeted the three women and welcomed them into the home.

"It's been so long since we've seen you last mistress." He said to Michiru who smiled toward the older man exchanged a few kind words with him. As they moved deeper into the party Michiru sought out her parents. They found the two hosts in a large family room as her father was telling a group of his business connections about some sort of business trip to another country. He trailed off however as he spotted Michiru hovering in the doorway.

"Excuse me gentlemen, but we have a special guest tonight." He held out his hand, smiling as his daughter strode forward to take it lightly. He looked toward the group he'd just been speaking to again. "I don't think most of you have had the pleasure of meeting my daughter, Kaioh Michiru."

Haruka was bored. She'd watched a movie, yet she could hardly sit still for it. She'd ordered pizza, just to hear the doorbell ring really, but most of it went straight into the fridge. She'd even gone so far as clearing what snow had been blown back onto the drive and setting up the basketball hoop. Now she was outside on the cold concrete in a pair of slacks, and a button down shirt playing basketball by herself. Anyone looking out the window at her would probably freeze just thinking about it, but Haruka didn't care about the cold.

"Ten'ou coming up the court, she blasts past all the defenders. It's Ten'ou near the basket and she shoots." Haruka paused to make a jump shot, the ball easily sailed into the basket and she grinned. "It's good!"

The bored blonde cut her cheesy commentary and took another few shots from random spots along the drive. She'd chase the ball down, dribble to a random location and shoot. Then she'd repeat the process again. This continued for another twenty minutes before she completely missed a shot and it hit the top of the back board. The ball bounced high off the board and flew in an arch over the blonde's head. She turned to run after if and froze.

"Looking for this Haruka-san?" Makoto's green eyes twinkled as the street lights lit up and the senshi of Jupiter smiled. Off to Makoto's left Ami just smiled, leaned against the brunette's green car and settled for watching the one on one game that soon broke out. The senshi's of lighting and wind chased each other and the ball up and down the driveway like a pair of children at a school lunch.

Michiru sighed as she closed her phone. She'd stepped into a bathroom to take the call, and thanked Ami for going to check on her blonde lover. She'd had to smile when Ami told her the two had found the wind senshi outside playing basketball, and that the thunder senshi had joined the game with out a second thought. Now she felt a little better about having to leave Haruka behind, though it still felt wrong to exclude her.

"Michiru. Are you alright?" As the voice drifted through the door she sighed a very different form of sigh this time.

"I'm fine mother." Michiru replied as she walked over and opened the door for her mother. The older Kaioh smiled at her and tugged her back toward the party.

"Your father and I are so glad to see you here again."

"Really?" Michiru kept reminding herself to play nice. It was hard though, as she kept finding reminders that her parents didn't truly accept her life but instead agreed to ignore it if she didn't force them to see it.

"Though I was wondering why you let little Hotaru wear such an outfit." Misses Kaioh commented in a disapproving tone of voice.

"Little Hotaru is a teenager and she's free to wear what she likes so long as it's appropriate." Michiru thought again of the image of Hotaru in one of Haruka's old suits with a vest instead of a coat. The suit had been Haruka's from junior high, and apparently hadn't been used near as much as her later suits. It was black, with a black vest now, and as far as Michiru knew had been worn for piano recitals or something like that. Now it was too small for the wind senshi but it looked cute on Hotaru who normally was fine wearing a skirt.

"I don't think I'd have considered that outfit appropriate but I suppose all teenagers have their stages." Michiru's mother sighed as if the girl were going through some form of teen rebellion. "Where did she find it anyway?"

"She raided her father's closet." Michiru said, letting a little stress out through the intentional slip in their agreement. Her mother stiffened a bit but it seemed to do the trick as the older Kaioh soon changed the subject to something else.

Haruka came into the living room in a fresh set of pajamas, as it was dark enough that she had no intent of leaving the house tonight. Ami was sitting on one end of the couch reading what looked like a thick text book as Makoto emerged from the kitchen with fresh cookies and three glasses of milk.

"Are we kids tonight?" Haruka asked, using a towel to dry her hair a bit more while she watched her two guests.

"Why not? It reminds me of a senshi sleep over, and none of us are really that old are we?" Makoto responded as she took a seat beside Ami. The thunder senshi had shed her coat and snow boots to reveal a pair of jeans and a green turtle neck. Beside her Ami was dressed in a similar fashion but she wore a blue pull over with a college name across the front.

"Speak for yourself; I have a teenage daughter to defend from boys." Haruka joked, earning a laugh from Makoto and a smile from Ami. "So, why did you two choose to call on me tonight?"

"To be honest, Michiru-san called to wish us a happy New Year and mentioned you were home alone." Ami admitted as she blushed just a bit. Haruka responded to this by taking the last seat on the couch with a shake of her head.

"So we decided, since we already were spending our New Years with a modified family of two, why not add one more?" Makoto grinned as she handed the blonde a glass of milk than waved to the plate full of cookies sitting before the three. "So, let's have some cookies."

It was silent for a while, aside from a holiday show Makoto and Haruka found on TV that showed musical acts from all over. Ami put down her book and started to rummage around in her bag for something, and Makoto's green eyes kept trying to see what the medical student was up to.

"What happened to Ami-chan's mother?" Haruka suddenly asked, having nearly forgotten about Doctor Mizuno. The woman was always so busy that it was rare to ever even hear her answer her home phone.

"It was her turn to handle the E.R. for this holiday." Ami said a small smile on her lips as she explained. "She had Christmas off though."

"What about you Haruka-san?" Makoto turned her attention to the blonde. "What are you doing home while Michiru, Hotaru and Setsuna are gone? That's pretty strange isn't it?"

"I made a deal with the devil." Haruka laughed at the expression that passed over Makoto's face. It was all too clear that the young cook thought Haruka had done something to land in the dog house. "Don't look at me like that, it's not like I cheated on Michiru or something."

"So how did you find yourself in our holiday club this time?" Makoto asked. Ami was still rummaging but seemed to be listening all the same.

"I'll give you the short version so here goes. Michiru's parents hate me and this time she took Hotaru and Sets to visit them."

"Oh." Makoto grinned. "Surprising she went at all. I still remember what happened to that one concert organizer that didn't want to let you come back stage."

"He lost a lot of money on all those refunded tickets." Haruka agreed as she remembered how Michiru refused to play. The organizer thought it was a bluff on her part and stood his ground. The man lost countless revenue that night when he had to cancel and refund the sold out tickets. "But this time I asked her to, though she didn't want to. This isn't a concert after all, it's her parents."

Michiru felt as if the party were getting slower with each passing moment. She looked toward her watch as carefully as possible only to find that she'd been there for three hours. To the artist it felt more like she'd been at the mansion for three weeks. She tried to keep up a "charming façade" as Setsuna dubbed it an hour ago but it was becoming harder.

"Kaioh Michiru?" The voice behind her caught her attention and she turned to find a young man with dark hair and eyes watching her with a smile. He bowed to her politely. "It's been over a year, almost two I think."

"Hello Masato-san." Michiru greeted in a friendly manner, hoping for the best. To her relief he smiled and looked around.

"Happy New Year! Where'd the temperamental blonde get off to?" His voice was a little teasing but only in friendly manner.

"She's at home tonight." Michiru saw a look in his eye and cut him off before any assumptions could float into his brain. "She wasn't feeling well but she insisted I come see my parents. Some close friends are taking care of her."

"Too bad, hope she feels better soon." Masato looked around again and leaned toward her to drop his voice just a bit. "She's lucky; this has been one of the most boring nights of my life."

For the first time in at least an hour Michiru gave a real smile. At least Masato was being polite and he was even a bit funny tonight. After a few more minutes of polite catching up Michiru excused herself and wandered off toward a different area of the house. Maybe if she could find Hotaru and Setsuna she could get out of here a bit early. They could all three make it home just in time to spend the end of the night watching the count down on TV with Haruka.

"Michiru." She mentally cursed and turned toward her mother with a smile. She loved her parents but tonight they'd been grating. She'd never liked their parties. She'd been taken to these things her whole life, shown off as a small achievement trophy to their business partners and friends.

"Mother." Michiru greeted quietly, wishing again to find her daughter and her friend.

"I saw you talking to Masato-san a few minutes ago." Misses Kaioh smiled and Michiru felt like a sheet of ice just dropped on her, She had a feeling she wouldn't like what was going to be said next. "He's such a nice young man."

"Yes, he is." Michiru agreed, eyes looking over the people nearby for dark green hair or violet eyes.

"You looked so happy speaking to him." Misses Kaioh took her daughter's arm lightly and began to guide her toward a less crowded room. "He's still single you know?"

"I'm sure he'll find someone nice soon mother." Michiru replied. Now she had a feeling like she wanted to escape before her mother could say what she knew was coming.

"Have you ever considered giving it another chance dear? Really you two made such a lovely couple."

"Excuse me; I need to use the rest room." Michiru said dryly, pulling her arm free of her mother's grasp and walking off. Misses Kaioh frowned but quickly turned her attention back to her guests.

"What's that?" Makoto said as she paused their latest cession of Soul Caliber. This time it was Makoto versus Ami and until the pause the genius had been winning.

"I think it's my phone." Haruka reached over to the coffee table and grabbed her cell phone. One look at the caller ID and she flipped it open quickly. "Hime-chan?"

The other two senshi watched Haruka as she stood and jogged out of the room, phone still pressed to her ear. They didn't hear anything for some long moments than Haruka reappeared and Makoto blinked. Haruka was in a black suit and though her hair was still mussed, the change had been in record time. The blonde took a seat on the couch to pull on her shoes.

"You're sure? Yes I trust you Hotaru I just don't want to make a mistake. All right, I'm on my way." Haruka closed the phone and stuffed it into a pocket. As she stood she nodded to her two guests and tossed Makoto her house keys. "I have to go pick up the family. Feel free to stay and wait, but if you decide to leave just lock up okay."

"Sure." Makoto said slowly. Haruka was out the door soon after. Makoto looked at Ami for a moment, blue eyes blinking back into her green ones. Than she shrugged and un-paused the game. "Okay Blue, do your best."

The gate wasn't locked this time, making it easy for the silver sports car to prowl up the driveway. A valet actually waited at the step as Haruka got out and she grinned to the young man. He looked toward the expensive car like a kid on Christmas.

"I'll only be inside for a short time, why don't you take her around the block a few times then bring her back." Haruka said, handing him a large tip and the keys. "You scratch my car though and I'll hunt you down."

"Yes sir." The young man jogged over the car and Haruka watched him drive it back out. He was careful so the blonde racer slowly strode up the steps of the Kaioh mansion. She's given her word less than a week ago not to show her face here but Hotaru had changed her mind. The teen didn't know why but Michiru had asked her to call and have Haruka come as quickly as possible. All Hotaru knew was Michiru seemed to be really angry at this point.

As Haruka entered the butler looked up at her and sighed. He didn't bother to tell her she wasn't expected this time; instead he merely waved his hand toward the general direction of the Kaioh family at large and returned his attention to the door. Haruka followed his directions and found Setsuna first.

"Haruka?" Setsuna paused and looked at her drink in a strange manner. The blonde smiled and shook her head.

"It's really me Sets." Haruka stated and Setsuna sighed in mild relief.

"Thank the gate. I've been drinking water all night and if it wasn't you I'd have to worry about what exactly they'd slipped into my water." Setsuna glanced around at the other guests, a few of whom seemed to recognize Haruka as they pointed out the young race star. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not really sure. Hotaru called me and said Michiru needed me here right away. I assume we won't be here long though." Haruka glanced toward the door and frowned. "Actually the Kaioh family could already know I'm here depending on if the butler is doing his job."

"Well, party's finally over." Setsuna seemed anything but heart broken about this concept as she placed her water glass on the nearest table and took the blonde's arm. "Shall we find the rest of the family?"

"Right this way miss Meiou." Haruka joked, leading her friend in the direction she seemed to feel Michiru was in.

Michiru stood beside a very bored Hotaru as the teen tried not to fidget. Mister Kaioh was going on with some speech about the New Year and family ties. Her blue eyes caught just a bit too much movement in the next room, people turning to take notice of something, and she knew it was just about time.

"And of course family is so important. My wife, daughter and granddaughter." He gestured toward his side where misses Kaioh stood, then toward Michiru and Hotaru. He named each in turn for the businessmen polite enough to listen to his little speech and was about to wrap it up when Michiru smiled brightly and interrupted him.

"You missed someone father." Michiru spoke softly. He paused and looked puzzled as Michiru walked to the doorway and held out her left hand to someone.

"Who did I miss?" He asked, cautiously as he noticed for the first time the ring on her finger. A tall blonde in an expensive black suit emerged from the doorway to take Michiru's hand and kiss it lightly. Mister Kaioh frowned and suppressed the urge to curse. He notice also for the first time the ring on the blonde's finger, a simple gold band, and realized they both must have removed them before.

"My finance." Michiru said, causing Hotaru to smile widely and try not to laugh at her grandfather's expression. A few people murmured in recognition of the blonde and one man stood up to greet her.

"Ten'ou Haruka if I'm not mistaken." The man had gray hair but seemed friendly as he held out a hand to shake her hand with a smile. "I'm a big fan of your racing career. Are you going to be competing in motor cross this year, or will you stay with just the cars?"

"I might make a few special appearances but I won't be going for a motor cross championship this year sir." Haruka smiled politely back and shook his hand. "It just takes too much time away from my family to compete in both."

"You've got a nice young family here; I can see how it'd be hard to leave them." He looked toward mister Kaioh who was speechless at the moment and laughed. "Why didn't you tell us that your famous daughter had found such a successful partner?"

"We decided to surprise him with the news." Michiru handled it flawlessly and Haruka winked over toward their daughter. Hotaru came over to stand with them, smiling as she saw Setsuna standing just outside the door waiting patiently. The violet eyed girl thought her suit looked much better standing beside her adopted father, and smiled even more as the blonde rested a hand on her shoulder.

Michiru came up with a polite excuse about having to go spread the news to Haruka's family, a partial as Haruka's father didn't know yet, and they started to say good bye. Michiru and Hotaru exchanged hugs with the elder Kaioh's in way of goodbye.

"Contact me when you can accept me, father." Michiru whispered into the hug. Her voice had been a bit cold but she meant it to get a point across. She was tired of playing their game, even for just a night. They'd tried to introduce her to several young men so she made her side clear.

"Good night." Haruka said politely as she shook hands with Michiru's father. He surprised her as he tugged her forward, pretending to want to give a congratulatory hug as he whispered something to the blonde.

"Take care of my daughter; she's your responsibility now."

"We'll take care of each other, we have for years." Haruka commented quietly back. She felt the man huff a bit.

"I suppose you have. Have a good life Ten'ou-san."

Haruka held the door of her sports car open for Michiru as a valet pulled Setsuna's car around. Hotaru glanced between the two cars, then waved toward Haruka and climbed into Setsuna's car. Setsuna paused for a moment before she smiled and pulled out her phone. She typed a few quick words, then climbed into her car and got buckled. Haruka's phone went off just as she climbed behind the wheel. She pulled it out to find a message from Setsuna.

"I'll take care of Hotaru and the guests, you two go have a nice night." Haruka read aloud. Michiru giggled and Haruka kissed her lightly as she tossed her phone in the back seat. "So, where to Miss Kaioh?"

"How about the beach?"

"Michiru, it's going to snow and its dark." Haruka pointed out. "The water will be freezing."

"Yes, but there's this nice little inn on the beach." Michiru smiled as Haruka smirked.

"To the beach it is then." Haruka started the engine and pulled onto the street. Setsuna was a second behind, but turned the opposite way.

"Aren't they supposed to wait till after the wedding to disappear on a honeymoon?" Hotaru commented jokingly to Setsuna.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be gone for weeks when it comes to that." Setsuna laughed as Hotaru made a classic teenage expression. She guided the car down the dark streets carefully and looked at the dashboard clock. "You know, we may still have time to go pick up Small Lady."

"She went home." Hotaru said, meaning this in a sense of time not location. Then she saw a smirk on Setsuna's face and her eyes widened a bit. "Didn't she?"

"She did." Setsuna kept smiling and winked at her. "But the trip wouldn't take long."

**Author's Note:**

Okay, I think I started writhing this over a year ago. I hope it makes sense as the last half was written six months ago. When I first started writing it I'd forgotten it snows in Japan unlike my sunny little home. Let me know what you think.


End file.
